Air cleaner and deflector therefor



Dec. 20, 1949 w. H. ZELINSKE 2,492,083

AIR CLEANER AND DEFLECTOR THEREFOR Filed Aug. 21, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

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Patented Dec. 20, 1949 AIR CLEANER AND DEFLECTOR THEREFOR William H. Zelinski, Columbus, Ohio, assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August 21, 1946, Serial No. 692,058

9 Claims. (01. 18315) .These formerly known air cleaners, however, were not as versatile as may be desired, in that a different air cleaner had to be designed for substantially every diiferent size of automotive engine. Automobile manufacturers in nearly every instance produce a line of motor cars varying in size and price. The engines used in a line of cars by any manufacturers also vary materially in size. While, in some instances, it has been possible to use an air cleaner suitable for an automobile engine of one manufacturer with a comparable engine of another manufacturer, it has not been possible to use the same air cleaner throughout a range of engine sizes, consistent with production economy, which does not permit use of an air cleaner having 350 cubic feet per minute capacity with an engine that requires only 250 cubic feet per minute. With these formerly known air cleaners, it was diflicult, if not impossible, to effect a change in capacity of the cleaner without redesigning the cleaner, such redesigning operation requiring the provision of new tools, etc., for manufacturing the revised cleaner. Further, liquid bath air cleaners heretofore known did not in all instances establish adesired circulation offthe cleansing liquid so that the dirty or sludge liquid would be kept from commingling to an objectionable extent with the lighter and relatively clean liquid, and in many cases in the use of an air cleaner having a center tube outlet for downdraft carburetors, sump liquids frequently climb the outlet conduit to a dangerously high level.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instant invention to provide an air cleaner so that the same cleaner, without change in design, may be used with engines of different sizes over a relatively wide range, without sacrifice of economy.

Another object of this invention is the provision Also an object of this invention is the provision of an air cleaner and a deflector for disposition in the liquid sump of the air cleaner, such deflector materially increasing the capacity of the cleaner without adding to the danger of carryover of cleansing liquid through the outlet of the cleaner with exiting air.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and novel deflector for insertion in the liquid sump of a liquid bath air cleaner to vary the capacity of the air cleaner.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide an air cleaner and a deflector therefor, which deflector may be loosely mounted in the liquid sump of the air cleaner and held down against rattling or shifting of position by the filter unit commonly associated with liquid bath air cleaners.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide a deflector which may be inserted in the sump of a liquid bath air cleaner loosely without the aid of securing means, and which deflector is readily removable for servicing of the air cleaner.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a liquid bath air cleaner and a deflector for disposition in the liquid sump of the air cleaner, the deflector being so arranged as to estab lish a circulation of cleansing liquid whereby the cleaner liquid freely circulates while the sludged or dirty liquid remains substantially dormant so that collected dirt will in the main be held quiet and not recirculated through the filter material.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a liquid bath air cleaner having a center tube outlet and a deflector for disposition in the liquid sump of that air cleaner so arranged as to eliminate the danger of oil or other sump liquid climbing the outlet conduit during operation of the cleaner, at least to a height endangering carryover with outgoing air.

Also an object of the invention is the provision of a liquid bath air cleaner and a deflector for disposition in the liquid sump of that cleaner designed to insure adequate aspiration of liquid from the sump by traveling air without any special adjustment or equivalent operation when the deflector is placed in position.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view through a liquid bath air cleaner equipped with a deflector, and embodying principles of the instant invention, certain parts being shown in elevation; and.

Figure 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of component parts of the air cleaner and the deflector, the view showing only one side of the air cleaner, since the other side is identical in construction.

As shown on the drawings:

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention there is shown a liquid bath air cleaner of the so-called hat type for use in association with a downdraft carburetor, although it will be understood that the air cleaner may be associated with other apparatus requiring a supply of clean air. The air cleaner includes a casing comprising separable sections, an upper section and a lower section.

The upper casing section includes an outer wall which may be lock seamed or equivalently secured to an overall cover 2. The upper portion of the wall l is outwardly turned to be joined with the cover, which is of greater diameter than the wall, as seen at 3 in Fig. 1, so that this part of the cleaner will'function as a hood Over the inlet opening to be later described. Extending centrally downwardly through the upper section is a center tube outlet conduit t connected to the inside of the cover 2 by a suitable flared spider arrangement 5 having relatively large openings 6 therein through which traveling air may enter the outlet conduit 4. Between the conduit 4 and the wall 1 an annular filter element is disposed. This element may include a mass of filter material 'l which may be of any suitable material, such as wavy metallic Wire or ribbon, animal hair, vegetable fiber, etc., treated in any desirable manner, and the unit may be removable or fixed in position as may be desired. Depending upon what particular material may be used for the filter medium 1, hardware cloth or equivalent screen-like elements 8 and 9 may be disposed at the top and bottom of the filted mass in order to retain it properly in position.

The lower casing section is in the general form of a cup, and this section defines a liquid sump for the air cleaner. This section includes an outer upstanding wall ithaving the upper margin inwardly rolled as at I! to lessen restriction to entering air. This wall I t is of larger diameter than the wall i on the upper casing section so that a downwardly leading path l2 for incoming air is defined between these walls. As seen clearly in Fig. l, the wall it terminates well below the junction between the wall I and the cover 2 so as to define an annular air inlet opening l3.

Below the inlet passage 52 the lower casing section is given a curvate contour I4 merging into an upwardly sloping inside wall It to define an annular trough-like portion iii in the liquid sump. The wall l5 merges into a curvate cross connection l! which in turn merges into a substantially vertical wall l8 leading downwardly to a bottom [9 which at its inner portion curves upwardly and may be secured by spot welding or in an equivalent manner as at 28 to an outlet conduit section 2i. This arrangement defines an inner central well 22 in the liquid sump, preferably somewhat deeper than the trough-like portion 16 which surrounds the well.

The outlet conduit portion 2i may be secured in any desirable manner to the intake of a carburetor or to another device requiring a supply of clean air. This conduit is provided near its upper end with a gasket holding arrangement 23 =1 ill for a gasket 24 against which the conduit portion 4 of the upper casing section seats when the two casing sections are joined together. The casing sections may be maintained or joined together during operation by means of a 2 bar 25 carried in the conduit portion 21 of the lower section to which is connected an elongated bolt 26 that extends through the cover 2 for external engagement by a thumb nut 21.

The structure so far described will operate satisfactorily as an air cleaner for certain capacity engines. It will be noted that the air cleaner does not require a baflle associated with the liquid sump by virtue of the particular construction of this sump as above defined. Incoming air entering the annular inlet [3 in descending through the passage l2 will carry the sump liquid contained in the trough-like portion iii of the sump immediately up into the filter mass. The depth and size of the trough-like portion [6 limits the amount of sump liquid that may be initially carried into the filter mass upon starting or operation. This liquid is commingled with the air, and circulated through the lower portion of he filter mass, the upper portion of the filter mass removing an entrained liquid and in some cases extremely fine particles of dirt from the outgoing air, so that the air leaving the cleaner by way of the conduit sections 4 and H is in a clean dry state.

Now, while the air cleaner as above described provides highly satisfactory and highly efficient operation for a certain capacity, if the air cleaner is to be used with a larger engine it must be made to. satisfactorily operate for a larger capacity of air. If more air is merely drawn through the cleaner, without anything else being done, the capacity of the cleaner cannot be increased ma terially, that is above the commonly provided safety factor, without pulling cleansing liquid over into the carburetor along with outgoing air. In order to accomplish this purpose, namely, to materially increase the capacity of the cleaner, and yet still have an adequate safety factor remaining, I have provided a deflector for insertion in the liquid sump. This deflector may be fabricated of several pieces to facilitate manufacture, but is preferably an integral structure when completed.

In the illustrated embodiment, the deflector comprises an upstanding or substantially vertical body wall 28 which is longer than the distance between the bottom of the liquid sump and the filter element. On the outside of this wall 28 a trough-like formation is provided which includes an outwardly and downwardly sloping bottom 2g, an outer upright or substantially vertical wall portion 39 and the upper margin of this wall portion 3:! is preferably inwardly turned as indi cated at 3|.

As illustrated, the deflector is annular and is seated inside the inner well portion 22 of the liquid sump. The deflector is of such a size that the outer wall portion 3i! of the trough-like formation is adjacently disposed to the vertical wall portion ill of the liquid sump. There is a gap 32 between these adjacent wall portions through which liquid might be aspirated from the sump by air traveling through the cleaner. Such a gap of 0.03 inch has been found satisfactory. It will be noted that the trough-like formation on the outside of the wall 28 is above the bottom of the wall and above the bottom of the liquid sump, and in the wall 28 below this trough-like portion there is an annular series of apertures or openliquid through the gap 32;

;-,ings 33 and a satisfactory size for these openings ,has been proven to be such that their combined area is approximately equal to one-third of the eroes-sectional area of the gap between the wall portions [8 and 30. It should be understood that where relative sizes are given herein they are given by Way of example only and not by way of V drawings, the wall 28 is preferably fabricated from two initially separate pieces, an upper piece having the trough-like formation thereon and a lower cylindrical piece having the apertures 33 therein. These two pieces are spot welded or equivalently secured ,together to form an integral structure. l

The deflector is merely placed loosely in the liquid sump of the'cleaner. Either of the wall are. shown formed in the wall I8 of the cleaner casing, but obviously they could be equally as well formed in the wall portion 30 of thedeflector. The deflector is held in position against rattling by the filter element. As seen clearly in the draw portions l8 or 3t. may be provided with spaced ings, theheight of the deflector is, preferably such as to indent the lower portion of the filter mass and thus insure a solid seating of the filter mass on top of the deflector.

With the deflector in place, it will be noted that the space below the filter massis substantially divided, and the inner well portion 22 of the liquid; sump is also divided into two compartments. Communication is established between these compartments through the apertures 33 in the wall 28 of the deflector.

With thisarrangement, incoming air passes through the outer trough-like portion It or the sump, up over the sloping wall 15, and then this incoming air by virtue of the greater room begins to expand substantially at the point indicated by the lead line from numeral 35 in Fig. 2. As the air expands, it willof course continue its travel through the cleaner, and the air will contact the turned in margin 3| on the outerwall portion til ofthe deflector. .A contact here is desirable so that there will be adequate aspiration of sump The height of the wall 352 on the trough-like portion of the deflector must not be too great nor too little. If it is too'great so that the travelingair may contact it at a high point, that is a point materially above the part li between the walls It and ill of the liquid sump, there will be little or no aspiration of sump liquid through the gap. If the wall is so short that traveling air may contact it or can contact it at a point down below the part I1, there is a good likelihood of some air passing down into the sump through the gap creating an adverse condition of operation. The above examples are true to a much greater extent in the event the wall 30 would be perfectly straight. However, this wall 39 has been made with an inwardly turned upper margin so that air striking it is caromed upwardly into the filter mass, and the height of thiswall is substantially that of the part l1, or a trifle thereabove, so that there will be a clean contact of air from the point over against the curved portion 3! of the wall 30. and proper aspiration of cleansing liquid results.

With the deflector in place, it will also be noted that the air will strike the upper part of the wall portion 28 and then go up into the filter mass without traveling too far across the lower portion of the filter mass. This wall portion 28 thus deflects the air, and prevents the air from causingsump liquid to climb up the outlet conduit to a point that would be dangerous from the standpoint of carry-over of cleansing liquid.

.With the deflector in place the capacity of the cleaner is greatly increased. For example, a cleaner having a capacity of 250 cubic feet per minute without the deflector will have a safe capacity of 350 cubic feet per minute with the deflector. Thus, the same cleaner may be utilized throughout a relatively wide range of engines without any change in the structure of the component parts of the cleaner. The variation is caused merely by the addition or removal of the deflector, depending upon which way it is desired to vary the capacity of the-cleaner.

During operation, as oil orother sump cleansing liquid descends from the filter mass, :a goodly portion of it will fall inside the deflector wall 28. Circulation is. established by means of the openings 33 so that that portion of the sump adjacent the gap is insured of an adequate supply of cleansing liquid for aspiration purposes. By virture of the action of the air, most of the heavier sludged or dirt laden liquid will eventually arrive inside the wall 26 01? the deflector and in the trough-like formation on the outside of this wall. In either location the very heavy dirt laden liquid andthe dirt removed from the traveling air will be in a relative zone of quietude andwill lie dormant to a great extent. The lighter and unburdened cleansing liquid may pass readily through the openings 33. and be recirculated, but there is little chance of dirt having once been removed from the air from again being recircu lated through the lower part of the filter mass. In servicing the cleaner, it is a simple expedient to remove the thumb nut 21, lift off the upper casing section together with the fllter mass, and then the entire deflector may be readily lifted out of the liquid sump. The deflector may be cleaned, and the lower casing section may be emptied of sump liquid and accumulated dirt, and then refilled with clean sump liquid to a point substantially equal with the lower end of the upper casing section wall I. The deflector may then be dropped in place and the upper casing section put back into operative position, with the filter element resting upon the deflector.

From the foregoing comment it is apparent that I have provided a highly eiiicient air cleaner and deflector arrangement which establishes a desirable circulation. of cleansing liquid and which insures adequate aspiration of liquid from the sump when the cleaner is operating at a high capacity without any necessity of any special adjustments of any kind. It will further be noted that, with the aid of the, deflector, the same cleaner without any change in construction may be used at a considenablyhigher capacity than without the deflector. thus enabling the same air .cleaner to beused through a relatively wide range of engine capacity. Furthermore, the entire structure is relatively simple, andyeconomical both from the standpoint of manufacture andservicing.

It will, of course, be understood that various details Of construction may be varied through a arcades ,7 wide range without departingfroin the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the (purpose to limit the patent gnante'd hereon otherwise than necessitated by the sc'ope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an air cleaner, a casing having 9, liquid sump in part defined by a substantially vertical wall-over which air passes in traveling through the cleaner, a deflector in said sump and including an upright body wall higher thansaidsump wall and spaced therefrom, a trough like formation on the outside of said deflector body wall including an upstanding wall disposed adjacent said sump wall but spaced therefrom to-leave a gap I therebetween through which sum'p-liquid ma'y be aspirated by traveling air, and said deflector body wall having a series of holes therein below "said formation, said holes having a total area equivalent to a gap less than half the size ofsaid 'gap.

2. In an air cleaner, a casing having a liquid sump in part defined by a substantially vertical Wall over which air passes in traveling through the cleaner, a deflector in said sump and including an upright body wall higher than saidsump wall and spaced therefrom, a trough-like formation on the outside of said deflector bod wall including an upstanding Wall disposed adjacent said sump wall but spaced therefrom to leave a gap therebetween through which sump liquid may be aspirated by traveling air, the upper margin of said formation wall being inwardly'turned, the upper end of said sump wall being rounded outwardly, and said formation *Wall extending sufficiently high relatively to said sump wall for traveling air to contact said formation walland aspirate sump liquid through said gap.

3. In an air cleaner, a casing having spaced inlet and outlet openings and a'li'quid sump therein, a filter element in said casing above said sum a deflector element seated freely on the bottom of said sump and held in position by said filter element resting thereon, said deflector element including an upright body wall 'of 'suflicient height to indent the lower part of said fllter element and thus divide said sump into separate concentric compartments, and a series of openings in said deflector wall to establish communication between said compartments below the level of cleansing liquid in said sum-p. I

4. In an air cleaner, a casing having a center tube outlet for clean air and an annular inlet passage spaced from said outlet, said casing havin a sump for cleansing liquid at the bottom thereof adjacent the path of air traveling from said inlet to said outlet, a filter element above said sump around said outlet'tube, and a deflector freely seated in the bottom of said sump 'and including an upstanding wall with its lower edge seated on the bottom of said sump and its upper edge in contact with and indenting said filter element concentrically, said wall dividing the space between the sump and filter element to limit the path of air traveling through the cleaner and thus prevent liquid climbing the outlet tube and also increasing the capacity of the cleaner.

5. In an air cleaner, a casing having separated inlet and outlet openings, said casing having a liquid sump in the bottom thereof, a filter element in said casing above said sump, the bottom of said casing being curvate in the region beneath the inlet to define an annular trough-like portion of-said sump, the wall of said trough-'lilre-portion farthest from the inlet-being upwardly "sloping to guide air easily into-said filterelementa substantially vertical wall spacedfrom said sloping wall and defining another well-like portion of said sum-p, said walls being connected by a curved junction at the tops, and a deflector-in saidsump including a body wall extending vertically to "said filter element and dividing the well-like portion of said sump into separate concentric'compartmerits.

6. In an air cleaner, a casing having a liquid sump in the bottom thereof partially defined by a substantially vertical wall, said casing having separated inlet "and outlet openings, a filter 'element above said sump, a deflector freely seated on the bottom of said sump below said filter element, said deflector being held in position by said filter element resting thereon, said deflectorineluding an upright wall portion spaced from said sump wall to define an aspiration gap therebetween, and one of said walls having spaced prol'ection's thereon to m aintaain said gap uniform throughout its length.

7. A deflector for free disposition in theliquid sump of a liquid bath air cleaner, comprising a substantially cylindrical and vertical body wall, and a trough-like formation including a bottom and a second upright wall spaced from said body wall, said formation ext-ending outwardl from and around said body "wall above the lower end of said body wall, said body wall extending below said formation to seat freely on the bottom of the liquid sump of the cleaner.

8. A deflector for free disposition-in the liquid Sum-p of a liquid bath air cleaner, comprising a substantially cylindrical and vertical body wall,

and a trough-like formation including a bottom and a 'second upright wall spaced from said body wall, said formation extending outwardly from and around said body wall above the lower end of said body wall, said body wall extending 'below said formation to seat freely on the bottom of the liquid sump of the cleaner, said body wall having a series of apertures therein below the bottom of said trough-like formation.

9. In an air'cleaner, a casing having a liquid sum-p in part defined by a substantially vertical wall over which air passes in traveling through the cleaner, a deflector in said sump and including an upright body wall higher than said sump wall and spaced therefrom, a trough-like formation on the outside of said deflector body wall including an upstanding wall disposedadjac'ent said "sump wall but spaced therefrom to leave a gap therebetween through which sump liquid may be aspirated by traveling air, and said deflector body wall having a series of holes therein below said formation.

WILLIAM H. ZELINSKI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

mariner.) STATES PATENTS 

